Obsidian developer, J.E. Sawyer, has been talking with fans over at the Obsidian forum. There he’s been releasing little tidbits of information:

“One thing that I want to state is that while this game needs to have things that make it recognizably an RPG, I think there are some RPG conventions that would feel/seem really corny in the relatively realistic Alien setting.

For whatever reason, slapping mithril ingots and gems onto a workbench and making a dragon slaying sword doesn’t jar most people in fantasy RPGs, but doing the same thing to get an upgraded pulse rifle or a brand new type of weapon seems kind of goofy in the Alien context.

Anyway, I do think there are ways to approach item creation or upgrading in a way that seems plausible and fitting for the setting without feeling like RPG Convention #12.”

It would seem that Obsidian is putting a lot of thought and detail into this upcoming game. I’m getting rather excited about the franchise’s future.